Human rights activists warn of ongoing terror in Venezuela

Venezuelan activist and sociologist Ligia Bolívar has been awarded the Rudolf Benario Human Rights Prize by the University of Nuremberg. Bolívar, founder of PROVEA, warned that Venezuela continues to be governed through terror, noting that while some political prisoners have been released, many remain under restrictive measures and survivors report harrowing accounts of torture.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also noted a complex paradox within the Venezuelan government. Following a five-day mission in the country, HRW Americas Director Juanita Goebertus observed that while repression appears to have entered a “pause,” this is due to specific decisions by authorities rather than a dismantling of the repressive apparatus. Goebertus noted that individuals linked to past human rights violations currently coexist with those making decisions that have contributed to a reduction in active repression.

Bolívar highlighted that the humanitarian and political crisis is exacerbated by infrastructure failures, such as electricity outages affecting medical patients, and described the current political landscape as a “supervised transition” that serves to rearrange Chavista forces rather than establish true democracy.